Personal Device Leash

ABSTRACT

A leash assembly is attached to a personal device. The leash assembly includes a housing, a cord expending from the housing, and a chain extending from the cord and attached to the device. The cord is retractable into the housing and the chain is blocked from retracting into the housing. The chain may be pivotally attached to a base attached to the device by a single sided adhesive tab, or pad, or other adhesive or mechanical structure sufficient to retain the chain on the device so that the device cannot easily be accidentally removed. The device may be directly attached to the housing of the leash assembly by mechanical or magnetic features, and when the attachment is magnetic, a magnetic field disruptor may reside between the magnets and the device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation In Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/494,521 filed Oct. 5, 2021, which application isincorporated in its entirety herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to wireless phone technology, morespecifically, a smart phone leash.

Tethering valuable objects to one's person has been a concept that hasbeen around for time immemorial. Without a line connect the person tothe object, the object stands a greater chance of being lost ormisplaced. When smart phones became available, it was not long afterwardthat clips, tethers, or leashes, were made for them, as well. However,they do not provide a single leash allowing various way for carryingsmart phones.

Personal devices and other devices, such as key rings, have substantialpersonal value to people but are easily lost or stolen. Therefore, suchpersonal devices are often put in a secure place where other items arestored such as a pocket or purse. In addressing this problem, it alsocan be advantageous to be able to secure the personal device to aperson, such as on a belt clip.

Another problem that occurs with such personal devices is that they aresometimes dropped and thereby broken or subject to water or other formsof damage. The “Cellular Phone Leash” disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,938,137 (“137 patent”) attempts to address some of the foregoingproblems by providing a leash that is retractable by means of aspring-loaded spool inside a circular housing. The circular housing hasa belt hook attached to its backside for securing the spool mechanism tothe user's belt. The housing is attached to the cell phone holder, whichhas its own belt hook, by a snap hook assembly. One problem with thedevice-disclosed in the '137 patent is that, if the items that areattached to the end of the leash are put in a storage location such as apurse or pocket, the other items in the storage location can becomesnagged to the leash when the personal device is removed from storage.This device also results in other problems including the need tomanufacture many different parts.

Numerous phone leashes exist already, but they lack two features thatthis invention adds. First, they do not have an easy means of retrievinga personal device from a pocket or purse. Often, the phone will entangleitself in one's pocket or carrying bag, necessitating the user todislodge the phone, thus risk missing a call. The second feature is thatthe other leashes do not have a rapid means of attaching the leash to apersonal device.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,137 filed Jun. 22, 1998 on behalf of Poulson for acellular phone leash discloses a leash attached to the personal devicecase and including a spring retractable leash cord in a housingpivotally attached to the belt will prevent dropping and damage to apersonal device in a case clipped to the belt. The leash housing ispivotally attached to a locking belt hook that cannot easily beaccidentally removed.

There also is a need for a leash allowing a smart phone to be carriedover a shoulder for hands free conversation. The tension on the leashmust cause the device to rest comfortably and securely on the back halfof the shoulder. No leash exists with the required tension for suchcarrying.

Therefore a need remains for a leash device that is secure and caneasily be extended while minimizing tangling of the personal device withother items as well as other advantages.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the above and other needs by providing adevice for securing smart phones and other personal devices to a person.The embodiments of the present invention are directed to a retractableleash for securing and locating a personal device such as a personaldevice. The leash may include a retraction mechanism and a housingcontaining the retraction mechanism, a cord retractable into the housingof the retraction mechanism, a chain attachable to the personal devicebetween the cord and the device, and a carabiner. The chain provides forplay in the leash when the cord retracts into the housing and alsoprovides for multi-directional movement of the leash, a tensioner allowsa phone to rest on a user's shoulder without falling backward. The leashallows the personal device to be readily located when carried in apocket, purse, etc. so that a user can m ore easily remove the personaldevice without entanglement with other items that are being carried. Thechain allows the leash can be felt, pulled or jostled if necessary tofacilitate removal of the personal device without entanglement.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided apersonal device leash having a tension between 0.17 and 0.5 pounds whenthe leash is extended over a shoulder to carry the personal device onthe back or around and behind a neck to carry against a chest. If thetension is less than 0.17 pounds, the personal device may slide backbehind the shoulder. If the tension is over 0.50 pounds, the personaldevice may be pulled back over the crest of the shoulder. The tensionbetween 0.17 and 0.5 pounds allows the personal device to perchcomfortably and securely on the back half of the shoulder or against thechest. This range of tensions enables hands-free application to talkingon the personal device. With the personal device set to speaker mode andthe hands are completely free and it is efficient to talk on a personaldevice with eyes for driving. It is easy to hear the smart device whileresting behind the shoulder close to the neck, positioning the personaldevice close to the ear so it can be easily heard and close to the mouthso the personal device can easily pick up a voice without a driverturning, facilitating keeping the eyes on the road. Use of a personaldevice on the shoulder with the leash device has been approved byCalifornia highway patrol.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided apersonal device leash attached to the bottom of the personal device.Such attachment allows carrying the personal device with a speakerfacing the user improving hands free use.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a personal device leash providing a quick retrieval of apersonal device when needed by one of two methods: 1) a tether readilyaccessible by a ring protruding 90 degrees perpendicular to the tetherwhen the tether is pulled taut, or 2) reaching for the phone whenattached to a mounting plate by a magnet, the mounting plate in turnbeing attached to a trouser belt loop or woman's handbag handle.

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a personal device leash providing:

a non-slip robust magnetic attachment device;

a magnetic field disruptor on the attachment device;

a ring on chain-style leash cord that is snag-resistant, stand upperpendicular to the axis of the chain when the chain is pulled, andenables the chain to be g rasped via the ring with subsequent phoneretrieval;

a stopper on the cord that prevents the chain from being tight,therefore keeping the chain loose so it doesn't wear out the edge of thepocket or purse;

a unique carabiner usually used to clip on a belt or purse loop, ring,or strap, uniquely engineered to clip on the edge of any garment so asnot to injure it or slip off;

a unique cord tensioner inside carabiner that allows the phone to bepositioned so that it does not fall;

a unique clip with spring slide that fastens safely to any garment; and

a pyramidal adhesive, magnetic, loop and hook, or other attachedhardware with four loops as corners in a rectangle, herein called alsoas “angled connector.”

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a personal device leash including a ring that is attached tothe chain at a distance convenient to the user and which stands upperpendicular to the axis of the chain when the chain is pulled taut bythe user. This also allows an attached device, such as a personal deviceto rest on one's shoulder. When the ring is in this perpendicularposition, the user can quickly and conveniently slip her or his fingerthrough the ring and retrieve the phone from the pocket, purse, or otherconfined area. In one embodiment the ring may be split or of the styleof a generic closely spiraled key ring that is made of spring steel andallowing the separation of ring's layers to allow the insertion of aloop and subsequent attachment of the chain.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a personal device leash which may be used with a generallyrectangular, trapezoidal or oblong shaped personal device and the chaincan be attached near a short side of the device to facilitate removalfrom the storage location such as a pocket or purse by gently pulling onand, if necessary, jostling the chain.

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a personal device leash having a chain which can be attached tothe personal device either close to the middle of a short side of thedevice or near a corner formed with a longer side of the device. Thisattachment approach leaves less surface area for items in the storagelocation to be snagged on the personal device.

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a personal device leash having attachment to the phone by theirbeing a spring-loaded gate at the distal end of the chain for securingthe attachment assembly to a mount. There are two basic modalities, thefirst being for attaching the chain via a spring clip attached to amount in turn attached to the phone by an adhesive pad, and the second amagnet.

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a personal device leash mount for direct attachment of thephone by a chain, the mount can be of any geometric shape but normallyconsisting of a square approximately ½ inch on each side. Viewed fromthe side, this square extends above the surface of the device andappears as a flat-topped pyramid consisting of multiple loops throughwhich the spring-loaded gate at the distal end of the chain can behooked. In the case of a square there would be a loop on each side.Underneath this pyramidal attachment point for the chain, there is adouble-sided adhesive pad on one side of which is attached the pyramidalattachment point and the other side sticking to the phone.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided apersonal device leash mount having an attachment assembly including amagnet. The attachment device, in turn, being hooked to a belt loop orcarrying bag handle, there are three layers. A first layer consists of amagnet that attaches to the attachment assembly with the spring-loadedgate that is secured to a trouser belt loop or carrying bag (such as awoman's purse) handle. A second layer is a thin aluminum doughnut shapedsteel/iron sandwiched between a magnet and a bottom adhesive layer. Thismagnetic field disruptor shields the user from magnetic fields generatedfrom the personal device. A third layer is a double-sided adhesive padon one side of which is attached the magnetic field disruptor and theother side sticks to the phone

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a personal device leash mount having an attaching mechanism incarabiner style including an incomplete loop and a spring-loaded gatefor securing the attachment assembly to the person such as at a beltloop or the person's wrist. The gate can be designed to selectively openand close the loop. The bias of the spring can be toward closing theloop. In one embodiment, a predetermined length of the combination ofthe cord, the chain and the personal device can be such that thepersonal device can extend from the housing via a specially tensionedcoiled spring inside the carabiner far enough for use but not so farthat the device would reach the ground if it was dropped by the user. Inthe case of the magnet embodiment, a ring or raised edge can surroundthe first mating piece attached to the housing to prevent slippage ofthe second mating piece when attached to the first mating piece.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following more particulardescription thereof, presented in conjunction with the followingdrawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a personal device attached to a leash assembly according tothe present invention.

FIG. 2 shows the personal device attached to the leash assemblyaccording to the present invention with cord of the leash assemblyretracted into a user attachment.

FIG. 3 shows the leash assembly according to the present invention inuse.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an attachment assembly of the leashassembly according to the present invention.

FIG. 5A shows a front view of the attachment assembly of the leashassembly according to the present invention.

FIG. 5B shows a side view of the attachment assembly of the leashassembly according to the present invention.

FIG. 5C shows a rear view of the attachment assembly of the leashassembly according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a base attached to the personal device and the chainattached to the base, according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 shown a detailed view of a clip attaching the chain to the baseaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a second base attached to the personal device and a springclip connecting the chain to the second base according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 8A shows a slide according to the present invention releasing thespring clip.

FIG. 8B shows the slide according to the present invention holding thespring clip open for attachment to the base.

FIG. 9A shows a front view of a third base according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 9B shows a side view of the third base according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 9C shows a top view of the third base according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 shows magnets according to the present invention directlyconnecting the personal device to the attachment assembly.

FIG. 11A shows a front view of a user carrying the personal device overone shoulder, according to the present invention.

FIG. 11B shows a rear view of the user carrying the personal device overone shoulder, according to the present invention.

FIG. 12A shows a front view of a user carrying the personal devicelooped behind the neck, according to the present invention.

FIG. 12B shows a rear view of the user carrying the personal devicelooped behind the neck, according to the present invention.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding componentsthroughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description is of the best mode presently contemplated forcarrying out the invention. This description is not to be taken in alimiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing one ormore preferred embodiments of the invention. The scope of the inventionshould be determined with reference to the claims.

Where the terms “about” or “generally” are associated with an element ofthe invention, it is intended to describe a feature's appearance to thehuman eye or human perception, and not a precise measurement, ortypically within 10 percent of a stated value.

A leash assembly 10 according to the present invention, and a personaldevice 12, are shown in FIG. 1 , the leach assembly 10 and a personaldevice 12 with a cord 20 of the leach assembly 10 retracted into anattachment assembly 14 is shown in FIG. 2 , and the leash assembly 10and personal device 12 carried by a user 11 is shown in FIG. 3 . Theleash assembly 10 includes the attachment assembly 14, the leash 20retractable into the attachment assembly 14, and a chain 22 connectingthe personal device 12 to the leash 20. A grasping ring 60 may beattached to the chain 22. The ring 60 may facilitate extracting thedevice 12 from, for example, a purse when the attachment assembly 14 isattached to a purse handle, clothing, or similar article. The cord 20 ispreferably between 10 and 13 inches long and the chain 22 is preferablybetween 10 and 13 inches long. A personal device speaker 12 b resides ona bottom (or speaker end) 12 a of the personal device 12. The chain 22attachment 22 a is proximal to the bottom 12 a, and therefore proximalto the speaker 12 b, and may be attached to the bottom 12 a.

A perspective view of the attachment assembly 14 is shown in FIG. 4 , afront view of the attachment assembly 14 is shown in FIG. 5A, a sideview of the attachment assembly 14 is shown in FIG. 5B, and a rear viewof the attachment assembly 14 is shown in FIG. 5C. The attachmentassembly 14 includes a housing 16, a user attachment portion 18, thecord 20 (see FIG. 2 ), the chain 22, a leash restraint 23 blocking thechain 22 from entering the housing 16, a ring 38 a, and a knob 50between the chain 22 and the leash restraint 23. The chain 22 may beconnected to the knob 50 by a connecting link 48 different from otherlinks in the chain 22. An example of the user attachment portion 18 isin the form of a carabiner having a spring gate 28 over an opining 30for retaining the attachment assembly 14, for example, on a belt loop,or any other suitable clothing feature.

The user attachment portion 18 may comprise an incomplete loop 26 and aspring-loaded gate 28. The loop 26 is incomplete in that it has anopening 30 through which a user can pass an element, such as a belt loop(see FIG. 3 ), to attach the attachment assembly 14 to the user'sperson, or some other means of attachment. The attachment assembly maybe attached to a variety of locations such as a loop hanging from abracelet on the user's wrist. The spring-loaded gate 28 is biased toclose the opening 30 as shown in FIGS. 4, 5A, and 5C. The gate 28 can beopened to hook the attachment assembly on a belt loop as shown in FIG. 3. The gate 28 can be opened by pressing the thumb or another fingeragainst the top part of the gate 28 to extend the gate 28 inwardly. Whenpressure is released, the gate 28 will return to the positionillustrated in FIGS. 4, 5A, and 5C. The user attachment portion 18 canbe made of metal or other suitable material, and can include a basestructure 32 surrounding the housing 16. The base structure 32 providessupport for the loop 26 and the gate 28.

The retraction mechanism (not shown) can be a coil spring-loaded spoolor reel for winding the cord 20, including one of the many types ofautomatic retraction reels well known in the prior art such as thosedisclosed in U.S. Patent No. 6,290,158. The retraction mechanism isdisposed inside the housing 16 which can be made of hard plastic, metal,or other suitable material. In addition to the housing 16 containing theretraction mechanism and the cord 20 when it is retracted, the housing16 provides a base structure on which is mounted the user attachmentportion 18 and a portion of the magnetizing assembly 24. The retractionmechanism preferably provides two to five ounces of initial tension whenthe cord 20 is initially drawn from the attachment assembly 14. U.S.Pat. No. 6,290,158 is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The attachment assembly 14 may further include features for directlyattaching the device 12 to the attachment assembly 14. An example ofthese features is an attaching assembly 24 including a mating piece 34 ain a ring 38 a. The attaching assembly 24 includes the first matingpiece 34 a mounted to the housing 16 on its front side. The mating piece34 a is approximately centered on the front of the housing 16. Themating piece 34 a may be a magnet in the shape of a disk, or the matingpiece 34 a may be made of a material that is attracted to a magnet. Theattaching assembly 24 cooperates with a second mating piece 34 battached to the back side of the personal device 12 (see FIG. 10 ). Themating piece 34 b may be made of substance that is magneticallyattracted to the first mating piece 34 a, and the second mating piece 34b may be a magnet. A magnetic disruptor 61 may reside under the firstmating piece 34 a to shield the user from magnetic fields generated fromthe personal device.

A base 45 is shown attached to the personal device 12 and the chain 22attached to the base 45 in FIG. 6 , and a detailed view of a clip 47 forattaching the chain 33 to the base 45 is shown in FIG. 7 . The base 45may be provided with double sided tape, may be glued to the personaldevice 12, may be attached by fasteners to the personal device 12 or maybe part of or attached to a personal device case.

A second base 46 attached to the personal device 12 and a spring clip 48connecting the chain 22 to the second base 46 is shown in FIG. 8 .

A slide 49 is shown in FIG. 8A releasing the spring clip 48, and theslide 49 is shown in FIG. 8B holding the spring clip 48 open for easyattachment to the base 46.

A front view of a third base 52 is shown in FIG. 9A, a side view of thethird base 52 is shown in FIG. 9B, and a top view of the third base 52is shown in FIG. 9C. The base 52 is pyramid shaped and includes taperedlegs 54. The pyramid shape prevents snapping inside pockets, purses, andthe like. The spring clip 48 may be attached to any of the legs 54. Anadhesive 56, for example double sided tape, may be used to attach thebase 52 to the personal device 12 (see FIG. 1 or 2 ).

A second mating piece 34 b attached the personal device 12 for directattachment to the assembly 14 by cooperation with the mating piece 34 a(see FIG. 5B), is shown in FIG. 10 . A ring 38 b may surround the matingpiece 34 b extending outwardly from personal device 12 and the 34 a maydovetail into the ring 38 b restricting the mating piece 34 a fromslipping off mating piece 34 b when the personal device 12 is mounted onthe assembly 14. In another embodiment, the roles of rings 38 a and 38 band the mating pieces 34 a and 34 b may be reversed.

The cord 20 is normally retracted inside the housing 16 as suggested bymost of the figures. However, the cord 20 may extend out of the housing16 when the personal device 12 is in use, as illustrated by FIG. 10 .The cord 20 is made of a material that is suitable to wind up on aspool.

The retraction mechanism has a unique tension on it, for example, 163.5grams. This tension allows a user to attach the attachment assembly to abelt loop and rest the device on the back side of a shoulder. The leashassembly 10 also keeps the personal device 12 from breaking if it isdropped. It also keeps the personal device 12 and just the right placewhen it is looped around the neck to be used with the flashlight orcamera so your hands are free.

The chain links of the chain 22 permit the leash portion of the assemblyto readily move multi-directionally. This allows for comfortablemounting of the leash assembly 10 on the person of the user. One exampleis to have the tension of the leash such that an attached personalcommunications device (e.g., a smart phone) can rest or even standvertically on one's shoulder without falling backward. It also allowsfor easier removal of the attached personal device 12 from a storagelocation, such as pocket or purse where there are other items that mayotherwise get tangled with the leash portion of the assembly.

The ring 60 (see FIG. 2 ) stands erect when the chain is pulled taut,thus enabling the user to insert her or his finger through the ring andallowing the phone to be pulled from its storage area. The user cangently pull on and jostle the chain until any caught items are releasedby gravity before removing the personal device 12 from the storagelocation for use via the ring 60. In some circumstances, this ring andchain may serve an ancillary function as an antenna and electromagneticdispersal device.

When the ring is slipped over the personal device antenna (when present)and when the personal device 12 is stretched to the ear to use, thechain may also be stretched, thus improving antenna gain, as well asdecreasing the possible harmful effects of personal device radiation byspreading it out over a broader area (away from the head). The bases 45and 46 may be attached near the corner of one short side or even nearthe middle so that there is minimal surface area of the personal device22 to get entangled with other items in a storage area.

The cord 20 and the chain 22 have predetermined lengths so that thecombination of the cord 20, the chain 22 and the personal device 12extends from the housing far enough for use but not so far that thedevice would reach the ground if it was dropped by the user. Thus, if apersonal device 12 is dropped by the user it will not break by hittingthe ground.

In one embodiment the chain 22 is attached directly to the personaldevice 12 with the adhesive pad. In another embodiment the personaldevice 12 is attached to the attachment assembly 14 by a magnet. A thirdembodiment the personal device 12 is attached to the attachment assembly14 by various straps wrapped about the phone. A fourth embodiment is aclear plastic protective case into which the phone is placed but can beoperated through the plastic. The back of the phone can have affixed toit either or both mounting points, i.e., one for the direct attachmentby magnet or by the chain. Alternately, the attachment device may havecontained within it either or both of the attachment means, theretractable cord or the surface or magnet onto which the magnet attachedto the phone is, in turn, attached.

A front view of a user 11 carrying the personal device 12 over oneshoulder 11 b is shown in FIG. 11A and a rear view of the user 11carrying the personal device 12 over the shoulder 11 b is shown in FIG.11B. The cord 20 and the chain 22 provide sufficient length for suchcarrying, and the tension on the cord 12 provided by the attachmentassembly 14 allows the personal device 12 to remain in this position.Because the chain 22 is attached proximal to the bottom 22 a of thepersonal device 12, the personal device 12 is carried with the bottom 22a up and the speaker 22 b positioned towards the user's ear 11 a toimprove hands free use.

A front view of the user 11 carrying the personal device 12 loopedbehind the neck is shown in FIG. 12A and a rear view of the user 11carrying the personal device 12 looped behind the neck is shown in FIG.12B. The cord 20 and the chain 22 provide sufficient length for suchcarrying, and the tension on the cord 12 provided by the attachmentassembly 14 allows the personal device 12 to remain in this position.The personal device 12 is carried with the speaker 12 b towards theuser's face improving hands free use.

An example of a required tension for the carrying shown in FIGS. 11A,11B, 12A, and 12B is between 0.17 pounds and 0.5 pounds when thecombined length of the cord 20 and the chain 22 drawn from theattachment assembly 14 is between 27 and 36 inches.

The leash assembly 10 is useful with other kinds of personal devicessuch as a set of keys or a watch and a leash according to the presentinvention used with any such device is intended to come within the scopeof the present invention.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means ofspecific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modificationsand variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.

1. A retractable leash assembly for securing a personal device to auser, the leash assembly comprising: an attachment assembly including aretraction mechanism and a housing containing the retraction mechanism;a leash comprising: a cord having a first cord end and a second cordend, the first cord end attachable to the retraction mechanism, the cordretractable by the retraction mechanism into the housing, the cordextendable from the housing for use by the user of the personal device;and a chain having a first chain end attached to the second cord end,the chain having a second chain end attachable to the personal dev ice,wherein a combined length of the cord and chain is between 20 and 26inches and is sufficient to carry the attachment assembly proximal tothe user's waste and loop the leash over a user's shoulder and theattachment assembly providing tension to retain the personal device inposition against the user's back for hands free use but not pull thepersonal device forward over the user's shoulder.
 2. The leash assemblyof claim 1, wherein the tension on the leash is between 0.17 pounds and0.5 pounds when the combined length of the cord and the chain drawn fromthe attachment assembly is between 20 and 26 inches for carrying theleash over the shoulder and the personal device against the user's back.3. The leash assembly of claim 1, wherein a speaker resides on a speakerend of the personal device and the second chain end is is configured toattach to the personal device proximal to the speaker.
 4. (canceled) 5.The leash assembly of claim 1, further including a magnetic assemblyincluding a first mating piece attached to the housing and a secondmating piece attached to the personal device, the first mating piecebeing magnetically attachable to the second mating piece for removablyattaching the personal device directly to the housing.
 6. The leashassembly of claim 5, further including a magnetic disruptor residingunder the first mating piece, the magnetic disruptor shielding the userfrom magnetic fields generated from the personal device.
 7. The leashassembly of claim 1, wherein the attachment assembly further includes acarabiner for attaching the attachment assembly to the user.
 8. Theleash assembly of claim 1, wherein: a tapered base is attached onto anexternal surface of the personal device, the tapered base having apyramidal shape monotonically tapering larger from a generally squarebase to a generally square top, the generally square base attached ontothe personal device; and the chain is is configured to attach to thetapered base.
 9. A leash assembly for securing a personal device to auser, the leash assembly comprising: an attachment assembly including aretraction mechanism, a housing containing the retraction mechanism, anda securing mechanism is configured to attach to the housing forattaching the housing to the user; a leash comprising: a cord having afirst cord end and a second cord end, the cord being attachable to theretraction mechanism proximate the first cord end and to a chainproximate the second cord end, a substantial portion of the cord beingretractable by the retraction mechanism into the housing, the cord beingextendable from the housing for use by a user of the personal device;the chain having a first chain end and a second chain end, the chainbeing attachable to the personal device proximate the second chain end,the chain being attached proximate the first chain end to the cordproximate the second cord end, the chain being is configured to attachto the personal device proximate the second chain end; the second chainend is is configured to attach to the personal device proximal to aspeaker residing on one end of the personal device; and wherein thecombined length of the cord and chain is between 20 and 26 inches and issufficient to carry the attachment assembly on a belt and loop the leasharound and behind around a user's neck to carry the personal device on auser's chest.
 10. (canceled)
 11. The leash assembly of claim 10, whereinthe second chain end is is configured to attach to the speaker end ofthe personal device.
 12. The leash assembly of claim 9, wherein thetension on the leash is between 0.17 pounds and 0.5 pounds when thecombined length of the cord and the chain drawn from the attachmentassembly is between 20 and 26 inches for looping the leash behind andaround the user's neck and carry the personal device on the user'schest.
 9. Currently amended) The leash assembly of claim 9, wherein: amagnetic assembly including a first mating piece is configured to attachto the housing and a second mating piece is configured to attach to thepersonal device, the first mating piece being magnetically attracted tothe second mating piece for removably attaching the personal device tothe housing; and the magnetic assembly further includes a ringconfigured to attach to the housing around the first mating piece forpreventing slippage of the second mating piece from the first matingpiece when attached.
 14. A leash assembly for securing a personaldevice, the leash assembly comprising: an attachment assembly comprisinga retraction mechanism, a housing containing the retraction mechanism,and an attaching mechanism extending from the housing, the attachingmechanism including an incomplete loop and a spring-loaded gate forselectively opening and closing the loop, the spring-loaded gate beingbiased toward closing the loop for attaching the attachment assembly toa user; A leash comprising: a cord having a first cord end and a secondcord end, the cord being attachable to the retraction mechanismproximate the first cord end and to a chain proximate the second cordend, a substantial portion of the cord being retractable by theretraction mechanism into the housing, the cord being extendable fromthe housing for use by a user of the personal device; the chain having afirst chain end and a second chain end, the chain being attachable tothe personal device proximate the second chain end, the chain beingattached proximate the first chain end to the cord proximate the secondcord end, the chain being is configured to attach to the personal deviceproximate the second chain end; and wherein: a combined length of thecord and chain is between 20 and 26 inches and sufficient to carry theattachment assembly proximal to the user's waste and loop the leash overa user's shoulder to carry the personal device on a user's back, or loopthe leash around a user's neck carry the person device against a user'schest; and the attachment assembly providing tension to retain thepersonal device in position against the user's back or the user's chestfor hands free use, but not pull the personal device out of position.15. The leash assembly of claim 14, wherein a speaker resides on aspeaker end of the personal device and the second chain end is isconfigured to attach to the personal device proximal to the speaker. 16.The leash assembly of claim 15, wherein the second chain end is isconfigured to attach to the speaker end of the personal device.
 17. Theleash assembly of claim 14, wherein the tension on the leash is between0.17 pounds and 0.5 pounds when the combined length of the cord and thechain drawn from the attachment assembly is between 20 and 26 inches forcarrying the leash over a shoulder or around and behind a neck.
 18. Theleash assembly of claim 14, wherein a magnetic assembly further includesa ring is configured to attach to the housing around the first matingpiece for preventing slippage of the second mating piece from the firstmating piece when attached.
 19. The leash assembly of claim 14, whereinthe cord and the chain have predetermined lengths so that thecombination of the cord, the chain and the personal device extends fromthe housing far enough for use but not so far that the device wouldreach the ground if it was dropped by the user.
 20. The The leashassembly of claim 14, wherein a grasping ring attached to the chain tostand perpendicular to the ax is of the chain when the chain is pulledtaut, thus allowing a user to grasp the chain and subsequentlyretrieving the personal device from a storage area.